Review
“Seventh-grader Cici Reno has a rep as one who gives stellar relationship advice. Her painfully shy BFF, Aggie, has been crushing on Drew (an eighth-grade hockey player) for two years, so to help them connect, Cici creates a Twitter account and strikes up an online relationship with Drew. Posing as Aggie, Cici is able to get Drew’s attention. The only problem is, Cici begins to fall for Drew herself, and Aggie is still unable to make any progress with him face-to-face. Torn between friendship with Aggie and romantic feelings for Drew, Cici seeks solace in novels and her mother’s yoga classes. Cici is a believable character, struggling with budding jealousy over Aggie’s newfound popularity yet wanting to hold on to her friendship. Interspersed with Twitter feeds and yoga poses, this clever twist on Cyrano de Bergerac will win over the hearts of middle-schoolers, particularly those feeling shy or awkward themselves, as well as reluctant readers.” —Booklist
“A surprisingly successful, suspenseful, and engrossing take on the Cyrano story with a contemporary twist.” —Kirkus Reviews
"Told with a female protagonist, Springer's shrewdupdate of the Cyrano de Bergerac story uses it as the perfect prism for middleschool girls, demonstrating how hitting puberty at different times can affectsocial status, love relationships, and friendship. For a light, rather humorousnovel, it's a surprisingly potent theme, and it also brings up an interestingpoint: how these bodily changes are hard on the girls who develop early as wellas on the ones who develop later...A surprisingly successful, suspenseful, and engrossing take on theCyrano story with a contemporary twist. --Kirkus
About the Author
Kristina Springer is the author of My Fake Boyfriend Is Better Than Yours (Macmillan/FSG), a Scholastic Bestseller and 2012 YALSA Quick Pick book; The Espressologist (Macmillan, FSG), a 2010 Society of School Librarians International Honor Book and 2014 Illinois Reads Book that has been purchased for film by Michael Eisner’s Vuguru; Just Your Average Princess (Macmillan/FSG); and Cici Reno (Sterling Publishing).
She has a Masters in Writing from DePaul University and resides in a suburb of Chicago with her husband and children. Her latest book, Cotton Candy Wishes (Skyhorse Publishing), came out in January 2019.
Learn more about Kristina on her website: KristinaSpringer.com.
